Chapter 20: The Lover’s Return
****Dante’s POV****
Waking up after taking a bullet is nothing like the movies.
There’s no gasp, no dramatic lurch forward, no immediate clarity.
It’s fog. Heat. Pain curling like a fist in your side.
My first thought wasn’t about the warehouse or Victor or even the blood pooling beneath me. It was her.
Isabelle.
Her hand was still in mine when I opened my eyes, trembling slightly, her face slack with exhaustion. I watched her sleep for a long time. She hadn’t let go.
Not through the worst of it.
My voice came out raw. “Still here.”
Her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she didn’t believe it was real.
Then her breath hitched.
“You stubborn bastard,” she whispered.
I gave a faint smile. “Beautiful bastard.”
She laughed, tears trailing silently.
